Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mamma said there'd be days like this...

It's days like this when I have these lined up on my couch (S's milk, S's water, P's water, E's bottle):


It's days like this when my living room looks like this:


And my child's lip looks like this (1st fat lip - her top right):


That I don't question why I'm a little tired.

About a girl...

About a girl and her dog. These two hardly leave one's side.


I was a little nervous about getting a puppy so soon after we put Corona down. Would I be able to emotionally handle it? How would Sariah react to a puppy?

After seeing these two chum around together all day, chasing each other, loving each other, I know we made the right decision.

Spooky Punkins

Sunday evening, we all went to Chris and Aubry's for dinner, dessert, and a little punkin carving!

The meal: chili, cornbread, mac and cheese, salad
Dessert: brownie bites with whipped cream


About halfway through, both Chris and Jared left to go hometeaching, which left the carving to the kids, and some of the parents.

It's funny how the activity is meant for the kids. However, here's who REALLY does the carving:


And here's what the kids are doing:




Sariah is ALWAYS on the move. She's our "little explorer." I can hardly get pictures of her looking at me because she's usually running away from me.


And the finished product:

Friday, October 17, 2008

Sariah's version of peek-a-boo

Sariah LOVES to play peek-a-boo!

Lately, she doesn't play behind her hands...she plays under her shirt.

She pulls the shirt over her head!

As she was waking up from her nap one afternoon, she started to cry.

Sariah doesn't cry under normal circumstances, and certainly not when waking up from a nap.

When I walked in to her room, I discovered that she had been playing peek-a-boo with herself.

This is what I found:





On another note, she's 15 months old yesterday! Holy cow, is she really almost ready for nursery???

STATS:
23 pounds, 50th percentile
25th percentile for head (very feminine)
90th percentile for height (she's been 75th since she was born - she's growing like a weed!)

Babies that go to nursery make mommies want more babies...hmmm....

"Chief"

Here is our sweet puppy, Chief!

STATS:
14 weeks old
Male
Neutered (as of 3 days ago)
Springer Spaniel mix
Sweet, lovable, cuddly, and has a voracious appetite

We love him already.

Jared brought him home from the vet, and here's how the entire car ride went:




A little doped up after surgery:



His second favorite sleeping place (first is mom's lap, third is his pillow):



Welcome to our crazy family, Chief!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ramblings of a crazy housewife

I sent an email to Jared this morning, and found it quite humorous. To help you understand a couple things, I've added some thoughts in italicized parenthesis. Here's how it went:

Chello, sweetie!

I have about 3.97 million things to do tonight, tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. I haven't been planning my days these last couple of weeks very well, so here's what I need to do tonight:

1. Store - Safeway
2. Color copies for my FHE packets (get-together tomorrow night) at UPS store (cheapest...I called around).
3. Tutor Elena
4. Store - Sunflower Market

As soon as the kids are gone (I watch my niece and nephew Monday through Wednesday), I'll scoop up the babe and we'll head off to Safeway and the UPS store. Come home, eat dinner, and get Sariah to bed. I'll tutor Elena from 7-8, and then head off to Sunflower market (local market where I get my produce, meats, and other organic things). We've got very little edible things around, and I desperately need to go.

Tomorrow, I'm going to drop off my FHE packets to get laminated at OfficeMax (cheapest), and go to work. During my break at work, I'm going to make the sacks for the BBQ (annual stake BBQ - I make the sacks that all the meat go in, and then the meat is cooked in an underground pit overnight - YUM). When I get home, I'm going to make a Texas Sheet Cake, and cook dinner. I'll finish off putting the packets together. Then at 7 tomorrow night, we're having about 12 people come over for the FHE activity night. (I have organized a FHE group in my ward - we get together and exchange ready-made FHE packets. 17 people in the group = 17 weeks of amazing FHE lessons and activities!)

Friday, Sariah has a doctor's appointment at 9am, then I'll clean the house, and teach a couple piano lessons. We'll go out Friday night - whatcha wanna do?

Saturday, I have a couple more piano lessons, make another Texas Sheet Cake for the BBQ, and then we have the stake BBQ at 4pm.

PHEW! Am I forgetting anything?

Love you.

p.s. I think the 2 names I like best for the pup are Chief and Oscar (we adopted a puppy from the Humane Society!! A black/white springer spaniel mixed with something else...ADORABLE).


That's it! Think my life is a little busy at the moment. I need to remember to enjoy the sweet moments with my daughter, and relish date night with my hubby. Don't worry - I'll get it all done. I'll just be really tired on Sunday!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Sad, sad day



Today is a very sad day for the Franklin family.

We had to put our beloved pit bull, Corona, to sleep.

She has been a member of our family for 4 years.

I found her as a stray at a pivotal time in my life - right after I lost a baby.

She was my baby.

She has kidney failure, and has started to have seizures. She was skin and bones, had a hard time walking, and trembled from discomfort. It was time.

I never wanted to be the one to make this kind of decision. It's so hard to decide when to put a dog down. Questions run through your mind like will she get better? Is this treatable? Is she uncomfortable? I didn't want to put her down if there was a chance.

We prayed about it, and made that decision. I find peace knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for all his creations. I don't know where she will go, but I do know that she will be taken care of.

She is so loved, and will truly be missed.

Our "Punkin" Picking a Pumpkin!

On Friday, the Tucson cousins and Grandma Wilkes went to Apple Annie's to pick pumkins. It's a huge orchard/produce patch where you can load up your wagons with lots of fresh, home-grown veggies and fruits.

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful!

Here's Sariah climbing in and out of the little pumpkin-picking cart:



Peter was SO great with Sariah. He pulled her along in the cart the entire way, what a trooper!



All along the way, there were lines of vegetables you could pick such as green chillies, squash, etc. I couldn't believe how big the squash was, so we compared it to Emerson:



Here is the pumpkin patch! Off in the distance is Chris and 3 of his boys: Collin, Derek, and Brandon.



Brandon was so cute - he was so proud of himself for finding these tiny pumpkins.



Our little wanderer. She didn't care too much for picking the pumpkins...she just wanted to wander and explore!



Mommy and daughter (before my haircut!):



Back at the entrance, there was a cute little farmer's market with everything from green beans to apple butter. YUM!



Cute boys!



We had a lot of fun, picked some wonderful produce, and came home exhausted. In fact, Sariah and I enjoyed it so much that we took Jared and went again Saturday morning!

This day wasn't so beautiful. The temperature had dropped 20 degrees, and it was raining. Did that stop us? Nope! Did Sariah care? Nope!


First stop: The orchard for a pancake breakfast. Here's dad eating his pancakes:



GREATEST little shoppe with unbelievable fudge:



Sariah in her hoodie that she loved.



Sariah in her cart...again...being pulled by dad:



Sariah and Dad...what a pair...



The most interesting thing that happened was on the way home. Normally, it takes about 75 minutes to get over there. On the way home, traffic came to a dead STOP.

After 15 minutes, people started getting out of their cars.

I called a radio station...a car accident 5 miles up the road, and the freeway was CLOSED.

For how long, I asked? No idea, the guy said.

Then...a girl got out of her van, set up the laptop, and started to surf the web!

2 hours later, we were rolling and came home safely.

Here's the girl with the laptop. It's hard to see, but you can see the door open. If you click on the picture for a bigger view, you can see her:



We made it home, crashed for a nap, and enjoyed our pumpkins. This will definitely become a family tradition!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

New Me, New Hair

I have had the same haircut for about 12 years...just different lengths.

As I lose weight, I feel like a different person.

A person who needs a new haircut.

I didn't want a trim...I wanted it CUT.

We're talking a BOLD move, here.

I took off 11 inches and donated it to Locks of Love.

These aren't the greatest pictures, so I'll post more, but you get the idea...

(I didn't realize how curly my hair was! It was so heavy that the length pulled out much of the curl.)



Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Miss Dashwood?

Sarah, this one's for you babe!

I am Elinor Dashwood!


Take the Quiz here!

Monday, October 6, 2008

A Bunch of Randomness

I'm cheesy...I like these kinds of tags because I love learning completely random things about my friends. So, here 'goes!



1. I'm secretly 80 years old. I love to cross-stitch, make home-made bread, and love snuggling in my afghan.

2. I can't paint my toenails to save my life! Those pretty toes you see all the time? Yup...pedicures at the nearest Vietnamese (they really are...I'm being politically correct here) nail salon.

3. I used to have 3 piercings in one of my ears. Double in the lobe, and one up top in the cartilage. Then President Hinckley told the young women in a conference that one ear piercing was sufficient, so I promptly took the rest out.

4. I balance my check book to the penny! We were starving students for years, so I had to know exactly how much we had in our checking account - thank goodness for online banking.

5. The thing I wanted the most in high school was to raise a steer for 4-H. I had horses, and wanted to raise a steer - mom and dad didn't go for that one.

6. It took Jared and I 3 years to have our little girl (end up all I needed was a hormone shot!). I marvel at the teenagers who have sex once, and get pregnant. I marvel at moms who have 6 kids, and end up with a "bonus baby," and then are not excited. I marvel at women who want a career, and don't want children. I marvel my little girl, who is the highlight of my life, second to my sweetheart.

7. Anytime Jared and I go to Vegas, I have to play/lose $20 on Blackjack. I love the game, and love the strategy, but am only willing to part with $20. If I win, Great! If not, I didn't break the bank.

Your turn, your turn, your turn!

I tag:

Erin
Courtney
Adrian
Anna
Jasmine
Carlie
Jessica